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Frank Jackson
Frank Jackson was a resident of Grantville and retired soldier. He was a member of the United Mine Workers of America, serving as its secretary-treasurer and a friend of Mike Stearns. After the Ring of Fire, Jackson, the only resident of Grantville with actual combat experience, became the Army Chief of Staff in the nascent New United States. Early life Frank Jackson was part of a tank crew in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (the "Blackhorse Regiment") during the Vietnam War. Surviving his tour of duty, Jackson met and married a Vietnamese woman, Diane (an Anglicization of her name), and returned to Grantville. He became a miner, and joined the UMWA, eventually becoming the secretary-treasurer of the Grantville local. Upon his discharge from the United States Army, Jackson stole an M-60 Machine gun, which he kept hidden in the woods near Grantville for decades. The Ring of Fire 1631-32 After the the Ring of Fire desposited Grantville in 1631 Germany, Jackson was one of several UMWA members who joined Stearns and Police Chief Dan Frost to investigate just what had happened. He was deputized by Frost after the Chief was shot by a down-timer. Jackson spoke admiringly of Frost's marksmanship, as he had killed both of his assailants with shots to the head and neck. Battle of the Farm House Jackon was part of the posse that attacked and killed six mercenaries torturing the owners of a farmhouse. Jackson and Dr. James Nichols were the only two men present who'd seen combat, and so weren't as visibly shaken as the others. Later, Jackson helped drive off another group of mercenaries who were pursuing Balthazar Abrabanel and his daughter, Rebecca. Grantville Emergency Committee Three days after the Ring Fire, Jackson (and virtually every other resident of Grantville) attended a meeting at Grantville High School. After science teacher Greg Ferrara confirmed that the town was stuck in the past, Mayor Henry Dreeson proposed the formation of an emergency committee to handle the situation. In short order, Mike Stearns was elected chairman. Stearns selected Jackson for his cabinet. Jackson ribbed Stearns good-naturedly when Stearns also appointed Rebecca Abrabanel to the cabinet, correctly recognizing the growing attraction between the two. Political rise Jackson became head of Grantville's Army, which was formed around a nucleus of UMWA miners who had military service, and soon incorporated young volunteers. While Jackson had protested this, explaining he'd served in a tank cavalry, not the infantry, Stearns brooked little argument, reminding Jackson that he and James Nichols were the only two people with actual combat experience, but that Nichols was also only one of two doctors. Reluctantly, Jackson agreed. With the tentative alliance between Grantville and the soldiers under the command of Alexander Mackay, a soldier in the employ of Sweden's Gustavus Adolphus, Jackson joined Stearns on the battlefield as the new allies set out to stop an attack on Badenburg by Count Tilly's men. Jackson brought his M-60, donating it to the New United States Army. With Stearns in overall command, General Jackson led the NUS forces through all of 1631–1632 until the governmental reorganization in October 1633 created the United States of Europe and an alliance with Sweden's Gustavus Adolphus. The alliance consolidated up-timer forces with the King of Sweden's other armies. In 1633, he became the New United States Army Chief of Staff. In 1634, General Jackson was attached to Lennart Torstensson's personal staff as liaison for up-timer military technology. Category:1632 Characters Category:Americans Category:Politicians Category:Generals Category:Miners